Written Answers Thursday 17 March 2005

Scottish Executive

Alzheimer’s Disease

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS Quality Improvement Scotland will review drug prescribing guidance in relation to the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the National Institute for Clinical Excellence regarding advice on the prescription of drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

Mr Andy Kerr: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published an Appraisal Consultation Document entitled Alzheimer’s disease - donepezil, rivastigmine,  galantamine  and memantine . The consultation is open until 22 March 2005 and can be accessed at:

  http://www.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=245912.

  The consultation document does not constitute the Institute’s formal guidance on these drugs and the recommendation made is preliminary and may change after the consultation. A final recommendation will be made later in the year. At that point, NHS Quality Improvement Scotland will provide advice on how relevant the guidance from NICE on these drugs is for NHSScotland.

Civil Servants

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty’s Government regarding job losses among civil servants in Scotland as a result of savings made by HM Treasury.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive has been involved in the Cabinet Office discussions regarding a UK corporate approach for the redeployment of civil service staff in order to minimise the level of potential compulsory redundancies arising from efficiency and relocation proposals. The Scottish Executive has indicated that it supports the proposed approach.

Culture

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any representations to the UK Government regarding the impact on the Scottish music industry of the effectiveness of current legal provisions in dealing with the fraudulent sale of music event tickets online and misrepresentation of the number of tickets available for music events online.

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any representations to the UK Government on seeking discussions with the owners of online auction websites in respect of protections available to individuals who have bought or been offered tickets for music events online in the United Kingdom and the impact this has on the Scottish music industry.

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any representations to the UK Government regarding the introduction of legislation to control or limit the sale of tickets for music concerts, music festivals, other sporting events and the theatre by street-based and online ticket touts and whether it has received any representations from the music industry on this issue.

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the UK Government in respect of the impact on the Scottish music industry of the advice available to people considering buying tickets for music events from individuals offering such tickets on online auction websites.

Patricia Ferguson: No, the Scottish Executive has made no representations to the UK Government nor received any representations from the Scottish music industry, or wider entertainment and sports industries, in relation to ticket selling or reselling matters.

Culture

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to the UK Government in respect of meeting representatives of the music industry to discuss the impact on the Scottish music industry of the law as it affects the sale of tickets for music events by ticket touts and online auction websites.

Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive has no plans to make representations to the UK Government on this matter.

Culture

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish all the correspondence, minutes or notes of meetings relating to the decision on the location of the national theatre in Glasgow.

Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive will examine the scope for publishing information relating to the decision to locate the permanent headquarters of the National Theatre of Scotland in the Greater Easterhouse Cultural Campus, Glasgow, in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Europe

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any contact with European Regional Commissioner, Danuta Hubner, and, if so, what the details were of such contact.

Mr Jim Wallace: No Scottish ministers have met with Danuta Hubner since she became EU Regional Commissioner in May 2004.

Europe

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will release details of all discussions held about European Regional Development Funding for Scotland (a) with the Department for Trade and Industry, (b) with HM Treasury, (c) as part of any joint ministerial committee meeting and (d) with the European Commission.

Allan Wilson: The European Structural Funds Division of the Scottish Executive is in regular contact with Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and HM Treasury (HMT) officials, on a number of European Structural Funds issues, including the European Regional Development Fund.

  There are also a number of specific groups that meet across departments and with the European Commission, at official level, to discuss matters relating to Structural Funds. These are:

  Committee on the Development and Conversion of Regions (CDCR), with representatives from all member states.

  European Managing Authorities Group (EMAG), with representatives from UK Government offices and devolved administrations.

  UK Structural Funds Steering Group, with representatives of UK Government Departments and devolved administrations.

  Programme Monitoring Committees of the various Scottish Structural Funds Programmes with representatives from key practitioners and stakeholders in the Scottish European Structural Funds.

Financial Services Strategy Group

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made with the Financial Services Strategy Group following its final meeting held on 1 March 2005.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Financial Services Strategy Group (FSSG), a partnership of industry, trade unions and the public sector, was charged with developing a vision and strategy to support the future success of the financial services industry in Scotland. The final meeting of the group was held on 1 March when the members ratified the completed strategy. Consequently we are today publishing A Strategy for the Financial Services Industry in Scotland and the first Annual Implementation Plan .

  The ambitious shared vision is:

  "An innovative, competitive and thriving international financial services industry in Scotland, underpinned by world-class infrastructure and universally recognised as a leader on the global stage."

  Through our continued commitment to working together, we strive to sustain and maximise the industry’s success and the impact it makes on the Scottish economy. We will achieve it by ensuring that the right competitive environment continues to flourish in Scotland. We aim to:

  Strengthen the world-class workforce and improve the business infrastructure;

  Build the industry’s profile within and beyond Scotland, and

  Support and encourage innovation within the industry.

  The First Year Implementation Plan sets out the priority, short-term and longer term actions needed to deliver the strategy. Early actions include:

  Examining new air routes from Scotland to key financial services locations;

  Working with mobile phone operators and transport bodies to eliminate "gaps" in coverage between Edinburgh and Glasgow;

  Feeding in the needs of the industry to the Executive’s Fresh Talent initiative;

  Enhancing work underway on financial education;

  Building better labour market knowledge, and

  Boosting capability within the supply network.

  A Financial Services Advisory Board (FiSAB) has been created to ensure delivery and further development of the strategy. I will chair FiSAB, alongside an industry deputy chair, with members of the board drawn from all parts of the industry, plus the public sector and trade union representation. FiSAB will be a prime enabler of the continued strategic level collaboration and communication needed to achieve our aims.

  Membership of FiSAB:

  Jim Wallace – Scottish Executive (Chair)

  John Campbell – State Street and Scottish Financial Enterprise (Deputy Chair)

  Mike Jones – Lloyds TSB Scotland

  Ben Thomson – Noble Group

  Otto Thoresen – Aegon

  David Wallace – Abbey

  Margaret Wallace – Morgan Stanley

  Willie Watt – Martin Currie

  Sandy Boyle – Amicus

  Graeme Dickson – Scottish Executive

  Jim McFarlane – Scottish Enterprise

  Martin Togneri – Scottish Development International

  HM Treasury observer

  It has been a privilege to chair the group and I look forward to the delivery of the Implementation Plan and to seeing the benefits flow to the industry, the economy and the Scottish people.

  Copies of the report are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre, (Bib. number 35639).

Football

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many boys participate in football in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools, broken down by local authority.

Patricia Ferguson: The information requested is not held centrally.

G8 Summit

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it can take to assist the G8’s aims for climate change.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what input it will have to the G8 summit’s discussions on climate change in respect of the relationships between greenhouse gas emissions and the associated level of climate change.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what input it will have to the G8 summit’s discussions on climate change in respect of reaching agreement on how to assist in research into climate change.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what input it will have to the G8 summit’s discussions on climate change in respect of the development of technology and other measures necessary to meet the threat of climate change.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what input it will have to the G8 summit’s discussions on climate change in respect of engaging countries outside the G8 which have growing energy needs, such as China and India, on how these needs can be met in a sustainable way.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what influence or direct input it will have on the European Council’s contribution to the G8 summit’s discussions on climate change in respect of the relationship between greenhouse gas emissions and the associated level of climate change.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what influence or direct input it will have on the European Council’s contribution to the G8 summit’s discussions on climate change in respect of reaching agreement on how to assist in research into climate change.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what influence or direct input it will have on the European Council’s contribution to the G8 summit’s discussions on climate change in respect of the development of technology and other measures necessary to meet the threat of climate change.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what influence or direct input it will have on the European Council’s contribution to the G8 summit’s discussions on climate change on the issue of engaging countries outside the G8 which have growing energy needs, such as China and India, on how these needs can be met in a sustainable way.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what influence or direct input it will have on the UK Government’s contribution to the G8 summit’s discussions on climate change in respect of the relationship between greenhouse gas emissions and the associated level of climate change.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what influence or direct input it will have on the UK Government’s contribution to the G8 summit’s discussions on climate change in respect of reaching agreement on how to assist in research into climate change.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what influence or direct input it will have on the UK Government’s contribution to the G8 summit discussions on climate change in respect of the development of technology and other measures necessary to meet the threat of climate change.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive is assisting the G8’s aims for climate change, for example:

  investing heavily in the development of new renewables technologies, such as wave and tidal power. We believe that Scotland has the potential to be a world leader in these technologies with our companies supplying major international export markets in G8 countries and more widely.

  encouraging and supporting businesses in improving their resource efficiency. This issue will be addressed further in our Green Jobs strategy and our Energy Efficiency Strategy.

  working in a UK forum to build on existing climate change science. We also have a Scottish programme, which includes scientific research. A major study currently underway is to improve our understanding of the processes that drive emissions from organic soils, a significant issue for Scotland.

  In addition, we plan to publish a new Climate Change Programme in the run up to the summit which will set out how we plan to contribute to UK long-term commitments to tackle climate change. This will be reflected in the new Scottish strategy for sustainable development which we are developing to give effect to the shared purpose, principles and priorities – including climate change and energy – set out in the joint UK sustainable development framework launched in Edinburgh on 7 March 2005.

Health

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS Greater Glasgow has indicated its intention to proceed to formal consultation in respect of the future of the present in-patient facility at the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital.

Rhona Brankin: No, I am informed by NHS Greater Glasgow that any such proposal would have to be agreed by the NHS board and that no such consideration has yet taken place.

Health

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what testing and treatment facilities are available for patients suffering from acoustic neuroma.

Mr Andy Kerr: Acoustic neuromas are benign tumours that develop in the covering of the acoustic or auditory nerve. Tests and investigations include hearing tests, neurological examination CT or MRI scan and results will enable a decision on the best type of treatment in individual cases.

  Treatment decisions will be based on a number of factors including general health and the size, rate of growth and position of the tumour. In some cases, if the tumour is small or if it is not causing any symptoms, treatment may not be needed.

  Some treatment is highly specialised involving a team of clinical specialists in a few locations in Scotland. These include ENT surgery, Neurosurgery or Stereotactic Radiosurgery/Radiotherapy.

Health

Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been initiated through the Chief Pharmacist and the Scottish Health Education Department on identifying methods to accelerate the introduction of low-sugar or sugar-free paediatric medicines, as referred to in Eating for Health: A Diet Action Plan for Scotland .

Mr Andy Kerr: The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), which represents around 100 companies in the UK producing prescription medicines, has agreed that, wherever possible, liquid formulations for new medicines should be sugar-free. However, not all medicines are suitable for sugar-free formulation and would depend on matters such as the active ingredient and the dosage form.

  In 1998, at the instigation of the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, a Working Group of the National Pharmaceutical Advisory Committee published a report on Sugar-free Medicines. The report put forward a strategy for the promotion and uptake of sugar-free medicines.

  There are now sugar-free alternatives to most commonly used liquid medicines and NHS prescribers are encouraged to endorse their prescription with "sf" to ensure that the sugar-free preparation is dispensed. Even if the prescription is not endorsed by the prescriber, pharmacists can dispense the sugar-free preparation whenever it is appropriate.

  An examination of prescription data for trends in the prescribing of sugar-free preparations of antibiotics for children for the period 1996 to 2003 found that there has been a steady increase throughout Scotland, from 29% in 1996 to 51% in 2003.

  An audit support pack for pharmacists produced by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain encourages the sale and supply of oral sugar-free liquid medicines, whether the medicines are dispensed on the NHS or purchased privately. The audit provides pharmacists with the opportunity to promote good oral health to patients and to increase manufacturers’ awareness of the need to produce sugar-free formulations through changes in ordering patterns. The audit pack can be accessed at www.rpsgb.org.uk/pdfs/sugar.pdf.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its commitment is to providing training in pain management to all health care professionals.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive supports the effective management of pain for all patients by all clinicians. The Executive recognises that pain management is an integral part of health care and an important part of clinical practice for all health professionals.

  Specific training in pain management is being delivered in a variety of settings, for example for medical and dental undergraduates and for anaesthetic and intensive care Specialist Registrar trainees, as part of the relevant curriculum; for house officers, in their induction programmes; for surgical and anaesthetic Senior House Officers; for GP registrars and palliative care Specialist Registrar trainees, and for dentists and professionals complementary to dentistry, through postgraduate courses. In addition, pain management teams are now a feature of most hospitals, and junior doctors interface with them during their extensive period of workplace learning.

  A multi-disciplinary Paediatric Pain course recently commenced, pump-primed by NHS Education for Scotland and aimed at ensuring that practitioners in Scotland have relevant and appropriately designed educational provision to meet the needs of children in pain.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will include the voluntary sector in the provision of pain management services.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Executive values the contribution of the voluntary sector in many areas of chronic disease management, and encourages the NHS to involve support groups in the planning and delivery of services.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what protocol exists for referral to secondary care chronic pain services from GPs and other health professionals.

Mr Andy Kerr: There is no national protocol. Information on any local protocols is not held centrally.

Higher Education

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why the maximum age eligibility for personal post-doctoral fellowships is 32.

Mr Jim Wallace: The purpose of the personal fellowship scheme, run by the Royal Society of Edinburgh on behalf of the Scottish Executive, is to encourage talented researchers at the start of their career to remain in Scotland to develop outstanding research. While there is no maximum age limit, the guidelines indicate that the applicant should normally be aged 32 or under, and that older applicants who have had a career break are also eligible. All applications received are considered on the basis of merit.

  Following advice in the Scottish Science Advisory Committee’s report Investing in Scientific Talent, I have asked the Royal Society of Edinburgh to undertake, during 2005, a full, independent review of the personal fellowships scheme in order to ensure that it fulfils our current objectives. This review will consider all aspects of the current guidelines.

Higher Education

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that setting the maximum age eligibility for personal post-doctoral fellowships at 32 does not contravene the European Convention on Human Rights.

Mr Jim Wallace: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-15121 on 17 March 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  There is no maximum age limit to these fellowships and I understand that the current guidelines on age do not contravene the European Convention on Human Rights.

Historic Events

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the execution of Sir William Wallace.

Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive is developing a programme of local and national activities, in partnership with a range of organisations, to mark this significant anniversary.

  This will include a Wallace website, an Edinburgh Book Festival lecture, and a gala dinner co-hosted with Stirling Council to mark the conclusion of the Wallace celebrations.

Housing

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why it plans to make the single survey mandatory, given that there were 74 participants in the pilot study.

Johann Lamont: The pilot had two aims - to test the ability of the market to deliver the single survey on a voluntary basis, and to test the concept itself. It is clear from the low take-up that the market-led approach has not delivered and that the scheme does not provide enough incentives for many sellers to participate on a voluntary basis. We believe, however, that the rationale for the single survey remains strong – providing in-depth information on a property to buyer and seller before sale and ending the need for multiple condition surveys. We therefore concluded that we should now evaluate the detailed outcomes of the pilot with a view to introducing a mandatory scheme.

Housing

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how the Housing (Scotland) Bill will help improve the upkeep of properties and strengthen communities.

Malcolm Chisholm: The bill will modernise the powers of local authorities to tackle housing in poor condition, for example by enabling financial support to be targeted where it is most needed and by declaring Housing Renewal Areas. It will update the Tolerable Standard and the repairing standard to which private landlords must adhere. It provides the powers for the establishment of the single survey scheme. And it will improve the rights of mobile home owners who rent stances.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what evaluation it has made of (a) any savings to the civil legal aid budget and (b) other costs such as shrieval time as a result of the provision of mediation services.

Hugh Henry: No formal or systematic evaluation has been made of any savings to the civil legal aid or other justice budgets as a result of the provision of mediation services. Previous attempts to do so in family cases have been unsuccessful due to the difficulties in ensuring valid comparisons between cases where mediation has taken place and others where it has not. Mediation may reduce costs in some cases where it is successful, but may increase the cost of cases where not successful. The take up of mediation in non-family cases is very low and unlikely to have had any measurable impact on the legal aid budget. Research is being developed with the aim of evaluating the effectiveness of mediation in Scotland.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many reports procurators fiscal received from each police force in 2003-04 and, of these, how many (a) were marked "no proceedings" on account of delay on the part of the reporting agency, (b) proceeded to trial, (c) resulted in a conviction and (d) are currently pending.

Elish Angiolini QC: The collation and analysis of the relevant information for this parliamentary question means that it cannot be answered by the deadline. I will write providing a detailed answer to the question as soon as the collation and analysis is complete.

Legislation

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which provisions of Acts of the Scottish Parliament that have received Royal Assent prior to 31 December 2003 have not yet been brought into force and when it expects these provisions will be brought into force.

Ms Margaret Curran: Often acts will require to be commenced in stages (for particular provisions or particular purposes) for policy or practical reasons. Decisions about such matters are the responsibility of the minister in charge of the act and so the information requested is not held centrally. Acts of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Statutory Instruments, including Commencement Orders, are published on the HMSO website. Is it in Force? 2004 which is published by LexisNexis, Butterworths, provides full details of provisions in Acts of the Scottish Parliament which had not yet been brought into force as at 17 February 2004. If the member would like information about any specific act or any specific provision or provisions in an act, the relevant portfolio minister will be happy to provide that information.

Midwifery

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of NHS boards are experiencing staffing shortages in midwifery.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive is committed to building workforce capacity within NHSScotland.

  Under the banner of Facing the Future, a number of recruitment and retention initiatives have been launched to specifically build capacity across the nursing and midwifery workforce. These include a review of workload, a review of nurse bank arrangements in Scotland as well as additional funding for clinical leadership programmes.

  Presently we are unaware of any specific concerns relating to a shortage of midwives in Scotland.

Midwifery

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of midwifery students left their course before completion in each of the last five years.

Mr Andy Kerr: The most recent data showing the percentage of pre-registration midwifery students, who leave their course each year, is detailed in the table below.

  

Year
Midwifery


1996-97
31.2%


1997-98
21.7%


1998-99
29.1%


1999-2000
25.4%


2000-01
23.9%



  Source: ISD.

  It should be noted that not all will necessarily be lost to the service as some students choose to transfer to other nursing categories during training.

NHS 24

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider creating smaller NHS 24 call centres in the Highlands and Islands.

Mr Andy Kerr: On 24 February 2005 the First Minister announced that the Executive was establishing a review group to consider the operational performance of NHS 24 and to come forward with recommendations for action, including actions for NHS 24, NHS boards, other partners and the Health Department for improving the services provided.

  The terms of reference of the review group include the requirement for the group to come forward with recommendations for improving services for patients in remote and rural areas. And I expect both NHS 24 and the group to consider whether the current three call centre model best meets the expected performance standards for the service.

NHS Funding

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to introduce legislation to give NHS boards prudential borrowing powers.

Mr Andy Kerr: No. The extension of borrowing powers to individual boards in Scotland has not been considered since Scottish ministers have no powers to raise extra resources by borrowing or sanctioning borrowing. Capital funding in the NHS is controlled by rules issued by HM Treasury, the Scottish Executive has no power to change these rules which are a reserved matter for Westminster.

NHS Staff

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-17332 by Malcolm Chisholm on 30 August 2001, how many salaried GPs there have been in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board area.

Mr Andy Kerr: The following table shows the number of salaried GPs in General Medical Services (GMS) practices at April in each of the years 1999-2004, and also salaried GPs in Personal Medical Services (PMS) practices in April 2003 and 2004.

  Salaried GPs at April

  

NHS Board
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004


GMS 1
GMS 1
GMS 1
GMS 1
GMS 1
PMS 2
Total
GMS 1
PMS 2
Total


Scotland 
17
17
14
24
34
124
158
32
145
177


Argyll and Clyde
-
-
-
-
-
1
1
1
2
3


Ayrshire and Arran
-
3
3
9
11
6
17
14
9
23


Borders
2
2
2
2
1
-
1
-
-
-


Dumfries and Galloway
-
-
-
-
1
1
2
1
1
2


Fife
-
-
-
-
1
2
3
2
2
4


Forth Valley
-
-
-
-
6
6
12
5
5
10


Grampian
7
4
1
-
-
40
40
-
38
38


Greater Glasgow
-
-
8
12
13
10
23
4
14
18


Highland 
-
-
-
-
-
13
13
-
17
17


Lanarkshire
-
-
-
-
-
6
6
-
5
5


Lothian
1
-
-
-
-
27
27
-
28
28


Orkney 
-
-
-
1
1
-
1
5
-
5


Shetland
-
-
-
-
-
3
3
-
14
14


Tayside
7
8
-
-
-
3
3
-
2
2


Western Isles
-
-
-
-
-
6
6
-
8
8



  Source: ISD Scotland.

  Notes:

  1. Comprises Salaried GPs in General Medical Services (GMS) practices, employed under paragraph 52 of the Statement of Fees and Allowances (SFA). Data source: ISD(M)37 forms, ISD Scotland.

  2. Comprises Salaried GPs in Personal Medical Services (PMS) practices, including all principal and non principal GPs. Data source: ISD PMS Census carried out on behalf of Scottish Executive.

  The new GMS Contract was implemented from 1 April 2004 which changed the definitions that applied to the General Medical Service.

NHS Staff

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the three-month vacancy rate was for (a) consultant psychiatrists, (b) psychiatric nurses and (c) all medical and dental staff in the NHS in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Mr Andy Kerr: Three-month vacancy rates are not held for consultant psychiatrists. Instead a total vacancy rate and one for over six months is collected via the annual census. At September 2004, the over six months vacancy rate for consultants within all psychiatric specialties was 4.7%.

  Vacancy rates for other grades of medical and dental staff are not collected centrally.

  The three-month vacancy rate for qualified nurses working within mental health services is 0.9%. This compares with a rate of 1.2% for all qualified nurses and midwives in NHSScotland.

  Further details are available at:

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/info3.jsp?pContentID=1346&p_applic=CCC&p_service=Content.show&

NHS Waiting Times

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9744 by Malcolm Chisholm on 16 August 2004, how many out-patients were waiting for (a) less than nine weeks, (b) less than 13 weeks, (c) less than 26 weeks, (d) more than 26 weeks and (e) more than 52 weeks for an NHS appointment, broken down by individual speciality and NHS board, in the most recent quarter for which figures are available.

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many out-patients were waiting for (a) less than nine weeks, (b) less than 13 weeks, (c) less than 26 weeks, (d) more than 26 weeks and (e) more than 52 weeks for an NHS appointment in June 1999, broken down by individual speciality and NHS board.

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many in-patients were waiting for (a) less than three months, (b) less than six months, (c) less than nine months, (d) less than 12 months and (e) more than 12 months for an NHS appointment in June 1999, broken down by individual speciality and NHS board.

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many in-patients were waiting for (a) less than three months, (b) less than six months, (c) less than nine months, (d) less than 12 months and (e) more than 12 months for an NHS appointment, broken down by individual speciality and NHS board, in the most recent quarter for which figures are available.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is being compiled by the Information Services Division of NHS National Services Scotland. I will write to the member as soon as the information is available and will arrange for a copy of my reply to be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

National Galleries of Scotland

Mr John Home Robertson (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans for major improvements to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

Patricia Ferguson: The National Galleries of Scotland has been asked by the Scottish Executive to produce a comprehensive options appraisal for the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. This will inform the business case presented to ministers.

  Plans for the Portrait Gallery will be considered along with the other capital projects proposed by the National Institutions in the light of the other capital pressures on the Tourism, Culture and Sport budget.

New Futures Fund

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated client level is within New Futures Fund projects.

Allan Wilson: In January 2005 there were 2,048 clients engaged in New Futures Fund projects.

Public Private Partnerships

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the amount of public funding required to finance PPP projects (a) in each of the last seven years and (b) which are repayable in each of the next 15 years.

Mr Tom McCabe: The estimated annual expenditure to service PPP projects undertaken by public sector bodies over the period requested is shown in the table below.

  Existing Deals (Operational and Signed): Total Estimated Service Payments (in Cash Terms)

  

Year
Amount
(£ Million)


1997-98
13.8


1998-99
28.0


1999-2000
83.7


2000-01
108.9


2001-02
226.7


2002-03
297.8


2003-04
364.4


2004-05
380.7


2005-06
413.5


2006-07
431.5


2007-08
453.0


2008-09
455.5


2009-10
461.6


2010-11
470.6


2011-12
479.9


2012-13
491.2


2013-14
496.2


2014-15
507.6


2015-16
527.4


2016-17
531.5


2017-18
545.6


2018-19
555.0

Renewable Energy

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the level of community benefit (a) is and (b) should be a factor in considering planning applications for wind farms.

Johann Lamont: Planning applications must be considered on their merits and determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Benefits, such as community facilities or trust funds, can be proposed by a developer or suggested by a planning authority. However, they should not form part of the overall assessment of whether a proposal is acceptable. There are no plans to change these arrangements.

Roads

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations the Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform has received from Scottish Borders Council regarding additional funding to improve the road network.

Tavish Scott: Finance ministers have not received any direct representations from Scottish Borders Council regarding the funding of the road network but the Executive has increased provision for roads maintenance by £60 million in the local government finance settlements for both 2006-07 and 2007-08.

  It is the responsibility of local authorities to set their own local priorities but, having made the case for increased resources, we look to local authorities to play their part in ensuring that local roads are properly maintained.

Rural Development

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-10232 by Ross Finnie on 29 September 2004, on what date the comprehensive guidance for rural communities across Scotland on developing village halls will be published.

Ross Finnie: The work of producing the guidance on developing village halls was put out to a competitive tender in October of last year. However, we did not receive a tender that met the required specification and are considering options as to the most appropriate way forward.

Schools

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many new schools have been built, and how many schools have been refurbished, since May 1999.

Peter Peacock: Local authorities have progressed more than 400 capital projects involving investment of over £250,000 in a primary school and £500,000 in a secondary school, and they have built 99 new schools.

Scottish Executive Procurement

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many major capital procurement projects it is working on, broken down by procurement method.

Mr Tom McCabe: At present, there are 40 major capital projects (defined as projects with an estimated value of at least £5 million) being undertaken by core Scottish Executive Departments.

  The breakdown of projects by procurement method is 29 conventional contracts, 10 as yet undecided and one PPP.

Social Inclusion

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of children over 14 in social inclusion partnership areas took part in sport at least once per week in each of the last three years.

Patricia Ferguson: Data collection for these participation levels are not specifically for children over 14 but for all children and adults over 14 to help measure the related target in Sport 21 2003-2007. This commenced in April 2003 when Sport 21 took effect. Therefore, the earliest collated figures available here cover the period April 2003 to June 2004 where the average participation level was 42%. The rolling average up till the end of 2004 will not be available until summer 2005, and will be reported to the Sport 21 National Implementation Forum in October 2005. Thereafter, figures will be posted on  sportscotland’s website www.sportscotland.org.uk .

Sport

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of people aged 17 to 24 took part in sport at least twice a week in each of the last three years and how this was measured.

Patricia Ferguson: Data collected as part of the omnibus household survey, the Scottish Opinion Survey, are used by  sportscotland to produce their annual reports on sports participation in Scotland. Because the sub-sample sizes for many individual sports are relatively small,  sportscotland use the data from the three previous years for each annual report. This increases the sub-sample sizes, thereby reducing the sampling error for individual sports to make the estimates of participation more reliable than they would be for a single year. To take account of the seasonality of participation in many sports, results from only the two most popular months of the year are used.

  The rolling average for 1999-2002 (up to December 2002) was 48% and for 2000-03 (up to December 2003) was 45%. Whilst this shows a decrease, we expect this to change once infrastructure developments such as Active Schools are bedded in. Active Schools should lead to improved links between schools and clubs (and tertiary education) and thus pathways for school leavers to continue their participation in sport with a club and/or in further education. Figures up to December 2004 will not be available until summer 2005, and will be reported to the Sport 21 National Implementation Forum in October 2005. Thereafter, figures will be posted on sportscotland’s website www.sportscotland.org.uk.

Sport

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of people aged 45 to 64 took part in sport at least twice a week in each of the last three years and how this was measured.

Patricia Ferguson: The rolling average for 1999-2002 (up to December 2002) was 42% and for 2000-03 (up to December 2003) was also 42%. That for 2004 will not be available until summer 2005, and will be reported to the Sport 21 National Implementation Forum in October 2005. Thereafter, figures will be posted on  sportscotland’s website www.sportscotland.org.uk

  The method of measurement is the same as that stated in the answer to question S2W-14291 on 17 March 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Sport

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of children aged 13 to 17 take part in sport outside the school curriculum and how this is measured.

Patricia Ferguson: The rolling average for 1999-2002 (up to December 2002) was 78% and for 2000-2003 (up to December 2003) was 71.3%. Whilst this shows a decrease, we expect this to change once infrastructure developments such as Active Schools are bedded in. Active Schools should lead to improved links between schools and clubs (and tertiary education) and thus pathways for this age group to continue their participation in sport outside the school curriculum. Figures up to December 2004 will not be available until summer 2005, and will be reported to the Sport 21 National Implementation Forum in October 2005. Thereafter, figures will be posted on  sportscotland’s website www.sportscotland.org.uk 

  The method of measurement is the same as that stated in the answer to  question S2W-14291 on 17 March 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Taxation

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty’s Government regarding the viability of the Inland Revenue’s operations in Scotland following reductions in civil servant numbers and, in particular, the degree of confidence that the Inland Revenue has regarding its ability to apply the 3% variable rate on the basic rate of income tax should that be agreed.

Mr Tom McCabe: Inland Revenue’s operations in Scotland are a matter for Inland Revenue since its functions are a reserved matter.

  The Scottish Executive’s Draft Budget 2005-06, published in October 2004, stated that the Executive had agreed with the Inland Revenue that the infrastructure necessary to use the tax-varying powers will be kept in a condition where, after a May election, the powers could be introduced from the start of the new financial year the next April. Following the initial investment made during the last Parliament to bring the infrastructure to this condition the cost of maintaining this state of readiness is £50,000 a year.

Taxation

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated administrative costs are of implementing the Parliament’s tax-varying powers.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Executive has made clear that it does not intend to use the tax-varying power in the lifetime of the current Parliament. We have therefore not commissioned any work to estimate the potential administrative costs of collection.

Telecommunications

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what 0870 numbers (a) it uses, (b) its agencies use and (c) non-departmental public bodies use and what revenue it has derived from each such number in each year since 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: Information on the use of 0870 numbers across the Scottish Executive, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and therefore the information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  Communications and Information Services Division manages telephony services used within the Scottish Executive. The division does not use any 0870 numbers in the provision of telephony services.

Telecommunications

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many 0845 numbers (a) it uses, (b) its agencies use and (c) non-departmental public bodies use and what revenue it has derived, or costs it has incurred, from each such number in each year since 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: Information on the use of 0845 numbers across the Scottish Executive, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and therefore the information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  Communications and Information Services Division manages telephony services used within the Scottish Executive. The Division uses one 0845 number in the provision of telephony services, specifically to facilitate calls to the Scottish Executive on a local call tariff from any where in the UK. This service costs about £9,000 per annum.

Telecommunications

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many 0800, 08000, 0500 or other "free to the caller" numbers (a) it uses, (b) its agencies use and (c) non-departmental public bodies use and what revenue it has derived, or costs it has incurred, from each such number in each year since 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: Information on the use of 0800, 08000, 0500 numbers across the Scottish Executive, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and therefore the information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  Communications and Information Services Division manages telephony services used within the Scottish Executive; the Division makes use of two 0800 numbers to provide remote access to the Scottish Executive’s IT network at a combined cost of around £100,000 per annum. A call to an 0800 number is free to the caller with the called party paying the full cost of the call. A further four 0800 numbers in use and registered in the name of the Scottish Executive have been identified by British Telecommunications plc but no cost data is held centrally.

Telecommunications

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive to what extent it advertises a geographic telephone number as an alternative to each non-geographic number used to access services provided by it or its agencies and non-departmental public bodies.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive advertises telephone numbers for services through British Telecommunications plc phonebooks, the Scottish Executive website and individual publications and leaflets.

  The Scottish Executive’s central switchboard and enquiry facility has two published numbers, one geographic and one non-geographic. In 2004 the decision was made to promote the use of the 0845 774 1741 number rather than the 0131 556 8400 in order to provide equality of access across Scotland. The British Telecommunications plc phonebook entries are being updated to reflect this and work is currently underway on redesigning the content and format of these entries.

  The Scottish Executive website advertises both the geographical and non-geographical numbers wherever appropriate.

  Information on the use of advertising of non geographic numbers as an alternative to geographic numbers across the Scottish Executive, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and therefore the information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Telecommunications

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many 09 or other premium rate numbers (a) it uses, (b) its agencies use and (c) non-departmental public bodies use and what revenue it has derived from each such number in each year since 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: Information on the use of 09 or other premium numbers across the Scottish Executive, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and therefore the information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  Communications and Information Services Division manages telephony services used within the Scottish Executive. The division does not use any 09 or other premium rate numbers in the provision of telephony services.

Telecommunications

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what changes it will make to its use of telephone numbers, in light of Ofcom’s guidance for government departments using 0845 and 0870 numbers, referred to in Number Translation Services - Options for the future, published by Ofcom on 22 October 2004.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Ofcom consultation document Number Translation Services - Options for the future was published by Ofcom on 22 October 2004 with the consultation closing on 7 January 2005. Following receipt and consideration of responses, Ofcom will set out its decision as to the Number Translation Services option to be implemented in a Statement likely to be published in calendar quarter two of 2005.

  The Scottish Executive is aware of this review and will adopt Ofcom recommendations on best practice for the use of these services when the review is complete.

Terrorism

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland regarding the threat of terrorism activity within and against Scotland.

Cathy Jamieson: We are in regular contact with the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland at both ministerial and official level on a range of issues, including matters relating to the threat of terrorism.

Tourism

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to promote archaeological tourism in the Highlands and Islands.

Patricia Ferguson: Historic Scotland is active in promoting archaeological tourism in the Highlands and Islands. The agency markets more than 70 properties in the area in the care of Scottish ministers to the national and international tourism markets. It also supports Scottish Archaeology Month, which promotes archaeology to a wide audience. 37 events were held in the Highlands and Islands in Scottish Archaeology Month 2004.

Weeds Act 1959

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it holds a record of the annual number of complaints received by each local authority regarding the injurious weeds listed in the Weeds Act 1959 and, if not, how these figures can be obtained.

Ross Finnie: There is no statutory requirement to collect information on the number of complaints about weeds specified in the Weeds Act 1959, but the Environment and Rural Affairs Department does this on an annual basis, and passes complaints about specified weeds on non-agricultural land to the relevant authority. This includes local authorities, the companies operating road maintenance contracts and railway authorities. These complaints are included in the annual statistics kept by the Environment and Rural Affairs Department.

  The Scottish Executive does not receive information from local authorities about the annual number of complaints received directly by them regarding the injurious weeds listed in the Weeds Act 1959.

  The Scottish Executive has produced guidance, available from its area offices, on control of ragwort, and the procedure for making a complaint.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Parliamentary Accommodation

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what IT equipment has been lost or stolen, and to what value, since the official opening of Holyrood.

George Reid: The reported losses or Thefts of IT equipment between 9 0ctober 2004 and 16 March 2005 are set out below:

  

Date
Item
Estimated Cost
Location
Directorate


12/10/2004 
Battery 
£100
Upper Basement
Technology and Facilities Management


13/10/2004 
Pocket PC Base
£25
SPICe area
Access and Information


26/10/2004 
Laptop
£1,200
Canongate Building
Technology and Facilities Management


07/12/2004 
Digital Camera
£400
MSP Block
MSP Offices


07/12/2004 
Pocket PC (Palm Top)
£380
SPICe area
Access and Information


07/12/2004 
Mouse
£20
MSP Block
MSP Offices


07/12/2004 
Laptop PC
£1,045
Upper Basement
Technology and Facilities Management


09/12/2004 
Pocket PC (PDA) and Cradle
£462
Queensberry House
Resources and Governance


09/12/2004 
Pocket PC (PDA)
£380
SPICe area
Access and Information


09/12/2004 
Pocket PC
£380
SPICe area
Access and Information


14/01/2005 
4xLaptop PCs4xCarrying Cases
£4,180
Canongate Building
Technology and Facilities Management


20/01/2005 
Laptop PCs
£5,130
Upper Basement
Technology and Facilities Management


24/01/2005 
Digital Camera
£318
Upper Basement
Technology and Facilities Management


25/01/2005 
Parliament Phone Nokia and Sim Card
£540
Queensberry House
Access and Information


27/01/2005 
Data Projectors
£2,640
Upper Basement
Technology and Facilities Management


31/01/2005 
Blackberry
£200
Canongate Building
Technology and Facilities Management


02/02/2005 
Remote Headphones
£80
Tower 2
Clerking and Reporting


03/02/2005 
Laptop PC and projector
£1,925
Upper Basement
Technology and Facilities Management



  Note: There have been no reported losses or theft of IT equipment reported since 3 February 2005.

Parliamentary Accommodation

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many reported thefts from members’ offices have been recorded, and to what value, since the move to Holyrood, broken down by floor.

George Reid: Only two items have been reported lost or stolen from members’ offices since end of August 2004, namely a camera from the first floor valued at £400 and a mouse from the fifth floor valued at £20. Both instances occurred in December 2004 with no reported losses in any of the other months.

Parliamentary Accommodation

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many thefts have been recorded, and to what value, in Holyrood since its official opening, broken down by department.

George Reid: The information requested, in respect of reported losses or thefts of IT related equipment is set out in the answer to S2W-14835. In addition, there are four reported losses or thefts to a total value of £66 from offices within the Clerking and Reporting Directorate and one reported loss or theft from within the Access and Information Directorate of an article of clothing, value unknown.